Route 195 Commission has turned down one of at least five development proposals

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Hecht Development, one of at least five development firms that submitted proposals to buy former highway land from the Route 195 Redevelopment District Commission, is out of the running, founder and CEO Ken Hecht said Tuesday.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Hecht Development, one of at least five development firms that submitted proposals to buy former highway land from the Route 195 Redevelopment District Commission, is out of the running, founder and CEO Ken Hecht said Tuesday.

Commission Executive Director Jan A. Brodie called him a few weeks ago and said it didn’t make sense for him to meet with the commission and present his proposal because he didn’t have firm plans to build on the land, Hecht said.

“The commission, to their credit, is armed with the mission to have development occur, to have development occur now, and I understand it and appreciate that,” Hecht said. “And my proposal was not necessarily: Here’s the plans for the building; we’re going to start building next month.”

Hecht wanted to buy Parcel 30 on the western side of the river, an oblong parcel that touches the 95 Chestnut St. building that his firm owns and rents to the Betaspring accelerator program and others. Back in May, after meeting the commission’s May 1 deadline to submit proposals, Hecht said in an interview that he was uncertain what his firm would do with the land but that it makes sense to acquire it because it borders 95 Chestnut.

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Again on Tuesday, he declined to speak in detail about what he proposed doing with the land, but he stressed that his plans were “for future development.” If he were successful in acquiring the land, Hecht said he could have added on to the 95 Chestnut building, development he thinks makes the most sense on the odd-shaped parcel.

The commission’s next deadline for submissions of development plans for the former highway land is Oct. 15. At a meeting last month, the commission voted to push back its next deadline, which had been set for Aug. 1. Hecht has no plans to re-submit a proposal on Oct. 15, he said Tuesday.

“I’m just going to do what we’re doing,” he said. “I’m redeveloping our property.”

But eventually, he said, the geometry of the parcel next door makes sense for his property and Parcel 30 to be owned by one entity.